A short story

by ~Amarie77

It all started in a winter evening. The month was December and at five in the afternoon, the sun had already set. Between them there was nothing but a single word. One single word and she fell.
A week later, the story repeats. But this time, there was something more, a gift
and a curse, a smile. But it wasn’t an ordinary smile. It was a radiant, glorious, beautiful smile. It was worthy of a prince in a fairy tale, which he was. It was the kind of smile that melts your heart and sweeps you out of your feet. And that’s what it did. One smile and she was taken.
The following hours were full of joy, of life and colour, the best of her life (so far). And then, it was over. He was taken, in love with someone else. Her world collapsed, her heart was broken, no, destroyed. She was shattered. And her adventure began.
First she tried to forget him. But inside her something roared “You’re going to fight this time”. And she would have, if she had known how. But the fact was whenever he was around, she couldn’t move. Words just froze before they leave her throat. With one glance he made the world stop, her included.
Then, for weeks in a row, she didn’t see him. So, she tried to let him go. What was her thinking? He was… so above her. He was handsome, extrovert, fun. And she was bright and strong. But you never heard of bright, strong princesses. They’re always beautiful and fair. And she was neither. And she was terribly shy.  Though, she couldn’t give up either, because deep in her heart, deep in her soul she knew. There was something in his eyes, in that one smile, that she couldn’t let go like that. She thought, for a while, that she had forgotten him, that it had been a silly obsession and that it was over. But she was wrong, so wrong.
One day, out of nowhere, he appeared in her dream. It was a glimpse, or less, it was just his face standing in the crowded mess of her dreams. But it was enough. From that day on, he stuck to her memory like gum to your shoes. He settled in her heart and was not going to leave it soon.
And she didn’t even see him, but if she even suspected that he was around, she’d shiver and freeze whenever she heard his name. Until the day she saw him. She walked right by him and the world stopped. They exchanged glances but no words were spoken. And that was enough. Before that she tried to ignore it, not to mention it to anyone. But from that moment on, she wanted to shout to the world that she was in love (but she didn’t, because, you know, she was terribly shy) and from that moment on she tried to fight. She tried and failed, as the power he seemed to have over her was overwhelming and intoxicating. She wouldn’t move, she couldn’t talk and like that she wasted chance after chance to get in touch. And one time after the other he drifted apart and that unspoken connection she had felt was fading and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She felt angered and revolted, mad at herself and the world. She sank into the darkness and gave up. Who was she fooling, after all? They had nothing in common, nothing that linked them together, beside a word and a smile. So, with time, she let him go. It was a hard painful and slow process. Sometimes she felt there was piece of her that was being torn a apart. But she moved on. She carried on, hiding, secretly, the shadow of the passion still burning in her heart. She wouldn’t talk about him, she wouldn’t look at him and people around her assumed she was ok and that he had been another one of her silly things. And still, late at night, when no one was watching, she would open a small wooden box and take a small piece of paper. In the photo, he was smiling his glorious smile, not at her, although she liked to think it was. And she would go to sleep and have one more of those sweet nightmares that seemed to tell a story with no end.
Then came the day in which they were to be apart forever, the day of the final Dance. She knew it would be the last time she would see him, she knew it was her last chance to let him know how she felt.  Knowing that she never would be able to actually say it, she wrote it in a tiny piece of paper she hid on her glove. She felt terrible and again mad at herself, as in five long years she still hadn’t grown up enough to face her fears.
At the Dance, she spotted him, right as she entered the room. He was looking as charming and prince-like as he always had. She ignored him (and missed the last cold glance he’d throw at her). All night she waited for the right chance, somehow she’d knew it would come. And it did, in a dark row that led to the inner rooms. She had been there to touch up her make up and groom her hair. When she came out, he was at the opposite end, the light of the ball behind him, darkening his features (still she knew it was him, like she always knew). She hesitated a little and then she walked towards him. He started walking in her direction and, in the moment they’re paths crossed for the last time, they didn’t exchange glances, nor words, but their hands touched and two tiny pieces of paper slipped through their fingers. The moment lasted forever and still it was over too soon, as they walked forward, away from each other and neither looked back.
As she got to the great hall entrance, she opened the paper. She covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Was it not for the writing she'd assumed it to be her own, as the words written were the same:

I love you


And as she turned to return to the hall, a loud bang came from the inner rooms and she knew he was gone.